April 14, 2015 – NATIONAL DOLPHIN DAY – NATIONAL PECAN DAY – NATION EX SPOUSE DAY – NATIONAL REACH AS HIGH AS YOU CAN DAY – NATIONAL PAN AMERICAN DAY

                                           NATIONAL DOLPHIN DAY

Each year on April 14th, people across the nation celebrate National Dolphin Day.
Dolphins are cetacean mammals that are related to whales and porpoises.
Ranging is size from 4 ft to up to 30 ft, dolphins are among almost forty species in 17 genera.
Found worldwide, they prefer shallower seas of the continental shelves.
As carnivores, their diet consists of mostly fish and squid.

• Male dolphin – bull
• Female dolphin – cow
• Young dolphin – calf
• Group of dolphins – school or pod

Dolphins are known to have acute eyesight both in and out of the water along with having a well-developed sense of touch, with free nerve endings densely packed in the skin.  They can hear frequencies ten time or more above the upper limit of what adult humans can hear and are capable of making a broad range of sounds using nasal air sacs located just below the blowhole.
Living in pods of up to a dozen, dolphins are highly social animals.  Pods do merge together in areas where there is an abundance of food, forming superpods, which may exceed 1,000 dolphins.  Dolphins can, and do, establish strong bonds within their pods and will stay with injured or ill individuals, even helping them to breathe by bringing them to the surface if needed.
You will see the dolphins frequently leaping above the waters surface.  They leap for various reasons; when traveling, jumping saves them energy as there is less friction while in the air, this is known as porpoising.  Some other reasons for leaping include orientation, social display, fighting, non-verbal communication, entertainment and attempting to dislodge parasites.
The United States National Marine Mammal Foundation conducted a study that revealed that dolphins, like humans, develop a natural form of type 2 diabetes which may lead to a better understanding of the disease and new treatments for both humans and dolphins.
NATIONAL DOLPHIN DAY HISTORY
National Dolphin Day, an “unofficial” national holiday,  is listed as part of the American Veterinary Medical Association Pet Health Awareness Events.

National Pecan Day – April 14

NATIONAL PECAN DAY

National Pecan Day is a food holiday celebrated each year on April 14.
The pecan is a species of hickory.  In the United States pecans are native to Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, Indiana, Tennessee, Kentucky, Mississippi, Louisiana  Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas.
“Pecan” is from an Algonquian word, meaning a nut requiring a stone to crack”
For more information on National Pecan Day, go to http://www.nationalpecanday.com/
To learn more on the history of pecans, go to http://www.ilovepecans.org/history.html

National Ex Spouse Day – April 14

NATIONAL EX SPOUSE DAY

National Ex Spouse Day is observed annually on April 14th.  This day recognizes one’s ex spouse.  The question has been asked as to why would one want to celebrate their Ex??  We are not sure there is a good answer to that question.
For a wide variety of reasons, sometimes marriages just do not work out.  Recent statistics show that the divorce rate for first marriages is at 50 percent.  Some people find that they actually get along better after a divorce than they did during the marriage.  Unfortunately, all divorces do not turn out that friendly and can the experience can be very painful and traumatic.   Regardless if it is a friendly separation or not, there needs to be a way to manage the situation when children are involved.
NATIONAL EX SPOUSE DAY HISTORY
National Ex Spouse Day was created in 1987 by Reverend Ronald Coleman of Kansas City, Mo.

National Reach as High as You Can Day – April 14

NATIONAL REACH AS HIGH AS YOU CAN DAY

National Reach As High As You Can Day is observed annually on April 14th.  Go ahead…..Reach as high as you can!  What are your dreams?  What are your goals?  What do you want?  Go for it……Reach for the sky!
You will never know how high you can reach, how far you can go, how much you can do until you try.  Believe in yourself and believe in your dreams.  You just might surprise yourself and surpass your original goal.
Reach as high as you can!
NATIONAL REACH AS HIGH AS YOU CAN DAY HISTORY
Our research was unable to find the creator and origin of National Reach As High As You Can Day, an “unofficial” National holiday.

NATIONAL PAN AMERICAN DAY

National Pan American Day is observed annually in the United States on April 14.   This day is observed by Presidential proclamation and is part of Pan American Week.
“This observance commemorates the First International Conference of American States in 1889-90, which concluded on April 14, 1890, creating the International Union of American Republics, the forerunner to the Organization of American States (OAS). Pan American Day and Week also commemorates the diplomatic ties and relations of the United States with the other countries of the Western Hemisphere, including Latin America.”  (Wikipedia)

 Following is the link for the Proclamation signed by President Barack Obama.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2015/04/10/presidential-proclamation-pan-american-day-and-pan-american-week-2015